Tuesday, March 18, 2008

American Idol-More Beatles

Tonight American Idol took on the Beatles for the second week in a row. (Did I mention earlier that I'm a Stones guy and not a Beatles guy....but I digress) I found myself wondering if the royalties paid on these past 2 weeks figure into the settlement for the Heather Mills-Paul McCartney divorce. Anywho....here's my take:

Amanda Ovemeyer: I thought the rocker girl did pretty good, but not great. To me, she still has the aura that she's posing a bit, to what she thinks a rocker girl should be. Simon wants her to step outside her comfort zone. I think she needs to stretch a bit, but she also needs to be very careful that she doesn't get stretched out of sorts! Note to Amanda: "Back In The USSR" is NOT a blues song.

Kristy Lee Cook: Better than last week, but this retread (someone who had a record deal earlier in their career, but lost it) is still standing on shaky ground. I guess it's a monument to my advancing age that I found it surprising that she had never heard of the song, prior to the show.

David Archuleta: David was also better than last week, although I wasn't as amazed and mesmerized as Simon. I still think he's probably punched his ticket to the final two because he does have talent and because of the TBF (Teeny Bopper Factor).

Michael Johns: Johns, another of the retreads, did a dreadful rendition of "A Day In The Life" from the Sgt. Pepper album. The singing was off key at times, and the arrangement was too close to the original, which leads to the inevitable comparisons with the original version. John's version was woefully wanting. Simon aptly called it "a mess." Johns (used to be known as Michael Lee) still strikes me a phony, as he strikes all the poses, but it seems so calculated and choreographed. The only person who could be smiling after that is Heather Mills, who envisions the settlement pot growing higher from the royalties.

Brooke White: I thought Brooke was ho-hum and very forgettable. Simon was spot on with his negative assessment. Not a great arrangement, not a great performance of "Here comes the Sun." Simon likes to compare her to Carly Simon, but methinks she's more of a Juice Newton.....not that there's anything wrong with that.

David Cook: The "Critter Club Kid" did a pretty good job. Not as good as the previous 2 weeks, but solid. Like Simon, I thought the "talk box" was a bit of a gimmick which didn't work that well, but I thought overall, it was very good, when compared to the others this evening. FYI, talk boxes are pretty much passe....they're so....so...Frampton. On the downside, they can rattle your fillings loose. I once built one, which amused me, for a few weeks. Then I moved on. BTW, Frampton and I have a lot in common: In the 7os, we both had long, wavy hair, played guitar and goofed with talk boxes, nowadays our better days, and long, wavy hair are long behind us. Maybe that's why I kinda like him more these days!

Carly Smithson (Hennessey): Carly, the retread, turned in the best performance of the night, even though I was not "moved" by any means. Great singing, great inflection and of course, great tattoo. Am I imagining it, or is the huge tattoo on her arm getting colored in more as the show progresses. Line of the night came from Bridget,"By the time she's voted off, she'll be completely covered."

Jason Castro: His WORST performance of the competition and maybe the night. I kinda like this kid, but......oh my. I think Jason's a good kid, and I think he'll skate on through, especially with the TBF, but this night, he was really bad, especially compared to his recent performances.

Syesha Mercado: I thought she did a good job and had a nice arrangement. Didn't blow me away, but no one did tonight. In the interview, prior to her singing, she went 3rd person on us, which I abhor, but when it came to the singing, I agreed with Simon that it was her best performance in the entire competition so far.

Chikezie: Kinda a reverse of what he did last week. Loved the first part, hated the harmonica, hated the last part. Started out with a great idea, but goofed it a third of the way through. Seems like a good kid, but he lost me on this one by going "Appalachian" at the end. Looking on the positive, he could be the next Charlie Pride. I like Chikezie. I just hope some producer gets a hold of him, straightens him out, and that Chikezie listens to him.

Ramiele Malubay: WORST performance of the show tonight. She seems like a nice girl, and I'm sure she has a good heart, but my goodness, what a horrible song choice and horrible performance....which came up so very short.

Overall: I agree with Simon. It was a BAD idea to do Beatles songs 2 weeks in a row. It was kinda cute the first week, but then, it got somewhat ugly and boring.



Theme Weeks that SHOULD be: I would love a Stones week, or better yet, a Jerry Lee Lewis week. Maybe they could have the Killer there in person, where even at his advanced age, I'm sure he'd scare the Hell out of them and give them a brush with real rock n roll that would change their lives. Just like the "Catcher in the Rye," "Great Balls of Fire" should be required reading for students. They'd get a lesson in rock n roll they wouldn't soon forget. Linda Gayle Lewis could guest star.

*Who should be voted off: Michael Johns, Ramiele or Kristy

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